Participation and Position of Women Uprising of 1857: Redefinition of Social Status: Then and Now

The participation of women in the Revolt of 1857 is still an area that needed to be explored and researched. The terms used for the upsurge in the book are ‘Uprising’ and ‘Revolt’, and these have been used interchangeably. Not only have the known and unknown heroines of 1857 been profiled, but the manner that the conflict impacted the lives of both Indian and European women has been succinctly tackled. The measure of participation was varied and ranged from women being combatants to being unobtrusive contributors. The term ‘participation of women’ has been used in a much wider sense than what is popularly understood. The ‘woman factor’ has not been dealt in isolation and the role of prominent men has been essayed to give a holistic flavor. Women have also been classified as a part of the general social issues that affected them issues that were prevalent as societal practices during that era. The social facet raises the piquant question with regard to the continuance of the issues that may be relevant in contemporary society and could be a throwback to the mid-nineteenth century era. A natural aspect of the ‘Now’ factor is the question of descendants of the known and unknown heroes of 1857. To complete the picture, the projections in the media and writings both historical and contemporary have been included and analyzed. The belief that the Revolt had a limited spread has been addressed by dwelling upon the areas of the Revolt supported by customized maps thus projecting the widespread impact of the upsurge.

The book has been divided into nine parts; each part comprises chapters relevant to the broad theme encapsulated in the title. However, the discussion would have been incomplete if a very significant aspect of the Revolt had not been dwelt upon. This is the spread of the Revolt, an event which is popularly believed to have a limited spread and restricted to northern and central India. This premise has been tackled at the beginning itself and a stand-alone segment has been inserted, titled, Areas of the Revolt.